Academic Achievement Awards

Hannah Bourne-Taylor

I am Kelvin.

And I am Nuhu.

We want to tell you about the highlight of the month for us – the academic achievement awards. Our headmaster can introduce what it’s all about…

The academic awards represent a celebration of one of our core pathways at Right to Dream: empowering education which enables future leaders to pursue and achieve their dreams. The awards are emblematic of excellence in both effort and results, and serve as encouragement to all student-athletes to always give their best in everything they do. Taking time to acknowledge victories across all our pathways is important to building a culture of collaboration and encouragement as a community.

Dr Bo Green, Headmaster

This is what, I, Kelvin said when asked to describe the ceremony…

The atmosphere around was very tense before the assembly officially started. Gifts which looked like they could turn the sky red appeared, unable to fit on the table they were piled high on. I sat there, and said to myself ‘this is my moment’. Finally, I waited as the introduction speeches finished, and the first award was announced. In the end, I won seven awards, from ‘the highest achieving student in Developmental Studies’, to the best one of all, ‘The Headmaster’s recommendation’. I had no space on my lap anymore. I was surrounded by pink wrapping paper. I enjoyed the moment – happiness entering me, my friends chanting my name.

I am Kelvin, and I’ve just won seven awards for academic achievement. I’ve worked hard and it’s paid off. This day, I have created a positive scar in the history of Right to Dream. I have made my mark with words, not goals and I am OK with that. This is my dream.

And this is what Nuhu said, when asked to share his thoughts about what the awards meant to him…

Awards usually symbolise hard work and success, and these awards are not so different. But there is more to them than just hard work and success. There are beliefs and values. Right to Dream teaches us how to articulate our own values and live by them. One of my values is winning with integrity, so I want to win but I want to do it with integrity. The awards I won remind me of my values and also the drive behind this success which is my mother. My mum taught me hard work and humility and I have done my best to carry these with me everywhere. When I came to Right to Dream, I learnt about how to connect these values with integrity. These awards are not just any awards, but they make me feel happy and motivated to continue living according to my beliefs and values.

I couldn’t do this all by myself, but with the help of my friends and teachers at Right to Dream, I have done it. One thing I have learnt from these awards is – stick to your values, and don’t forget about integrity when you win. I have much bigger dreams in the future which will motivate me to continue doing great stuff because EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO DREAM.

Post by Mohammed Nuhu and Kelvin Kyei, Right to Dream students, and winners of the Headmaster's recommendation award

Right to Dream and Tullow Oil have been shortlisted within the category of Most Innovative Sports Partnership for the work we are doing in using S.T.E.M education and robotics, alongside the vehicle of football, to inspire social and technological change.